6 September 2012 Jennifer Reade - The History of Deanston Cotton Mill and Distillery
Thu, Sep 6th 2012 at 12:00 am - 2:00 am
Talk by Jennifer Reade on the History of Deanston Mill from its origins as a cotton mill to its current use as a distillery.
Rotary spins a yarn for a dram
The Deanston Distillery's fascinating history - from a state-of-the-art cotton mill during the 19th century to its present-day use - was traced by freelance archivist Jennifer Reade, when she was guest speaker at last week's meeting of the and Dunblane Rotary club.
The potential of the site, originally a flax mill, was spotted by James Buchanan in 1781when he bought six acres of land adjacent to the fast-running River Teith. He subsequently enlisted Richard Arkwright, who is generally recognised as one of the founders of the Industrial Revolution, to design him a cotton mill, which opened in 1785 as the Adelphi Mill.
The beginning of the mill's golden era began in 1806 when James Smith, aged only 17 years, became manager. Within a few years his vision and energy provided employment for around 1,500 workers.
The building itself incorporated a number of innovations that many eco-friendly groups today would applaud. "In the 1820s the floor was braced with cast-iron girders to withstand the weight of the machinery," Jennifer told the members, "The roof was insulated with soil to help regulate the temperature so it was also used as a vegetable garden. And in 1813 the mill was lit by gas -100 years before 's in 1913. Indeed Deanston is the only distillery in today that produces its own electricity.
"What was once the weaving shed is now the oldest surviving Regency building in - Grade A listed, it is 204 feet long and 156 feet wide. And the 36-feet diameter water wheels - that were replaced in 1949 by giant turbines - were the largest in
A year after the mill closed in 1965, the buildings were converted to become the distillery. They were officially opened by actor Andrew Cruickshank, who played one of the lead roles in the BBC television series ' Dr Finlay's Casebook' that was filmed in and around Callander.
The innovation still continues nowadays, as in 2000, the distillery was among the first to produce an organic whisky. In 2011, it featured as one of the locations in the Ken Loach directed film The Angel's Share.
